Monster Harem In The Tower-Chapter 264: FAAAAAAAAHHHH

They were eventually guided toward the group of five hunters who had been standing slightly apart from the others all this time.

Two men. Three women.

Their posture was relaxed—too relaxed for an official situation—yet their air of dominance was unmistakable. Their gazes swept over Nathan, David, Sophia, and Validia without any attempt to hide their judgment.

Condescending stares.

A silver-haired man in a long coat let out a thin smirk, his eyes lingering on Nathan a moment longer, as if appraising a cheap item.

"Heh," he muttered softly. "Is this the backup team?"

One of the women—tall, dark-red hair, a confident thin smile—crossed her arms.

"Blue Fang’s standards are getting loose," she said lightly. "Letting people like this into the tower."

David stiffened, but before he could speak—

"Nathan."

A familiar voice cut through the atmosphere.

Fiona stepped closer from the other side of the courtyard. Her hair was neatly tied, her expression professional as ever. Beside her, David instinctively straightened his posture.

"Oh—Fiona," Nathan greeted quickly. "You’re coming too?"

Fiona nodded. "I’m acting as an observer."

One of the female hunters glanced at Fiona, then smiled faintly.

"Oh? So you’re the woman who got chased by monsters and rescued by David?" Her tone was light, but sharp.

Fiona merely returned a flat stare. "Correct."

Nathan caught a fleeting micro-tension in Fiona’s shoulders—small, but present.

Before the situation could escalate—

Heavy footsteps approached.

Ulrich.

The large man emerged from the main entrance of the building, his command coat fluttering lightly. His face was rigid, his voice loud and firm.

"Enough."

All conversation stopped instantly.

Ulrich swept the entire group with a cold gaze.

"The expedition begins now. Proceed to your assigned pickup vehicles. The limousines are ready."

He paused briefly, then added,

"We are not departing to put on a show."

The five SSS-rank hunters merely snorted lightly, as if the warning had not truly been directed at them.

A few minutes later—

Nathan sat inside a long black limousine with his team. Cold leather seats, tinted windows, a silent interior.

Validia leaned back with her eyes closed, seemingly uninterested in everything.

Nathan tried to stay relaxed, but his fingers kept tapping against his knee.

"Crazy... a limousine for a tower expedition," he muttered. "Feels like a red-carpet event."

When the vehicle stopped and the door opened—

Noise hit them all at once.

Camera flashes. Reporters shouting. Drones buzzing through the air.

"SSS-RANK HUNTERS!"

"LOOK THIS WAY!"

"MISS, ONE COMMENT PLEASE!"

Nathan instinctively narrowed his eyes as he stepped out, his shoulders slightly tense.

Ahead of them, the five hunters walked first—smiling, waving, even pausing briefly to pose.

Like celebrities.

"Look at that," Nathan whispered. "They’re really enjoying it."

Validia let out a quiet breath.

"This is pointless."

She stared at the crowd with an empty expression.

"The more people watching," she said flatly, "the more I want to wipe them out."

Nathan shot her a quick glance.

"...Don’t say that out loud."

In the distance, the Tower loomed—black, massive, pressing down on the surrounding sky. A strange aura pulsed faintly from its surface, indifferent to cameras, indifferent to humans.

Nathan stared at it for a long moment.

Amid the cheers, camera flashes, and hunters’ egos—

He had only one thought:

Lilith is watching.

--

The entrance to the Tower opened slowly.

The air around them immediately changed—heavier, colder. The city lights behind them seemed to be forcibly cut off, replaced by a gigantic corridor lined with black stone and alien geometric structures that were never truly symmetrical.

The moment the first foot stepped onto the inner floor—

BOOM.

The door slammed shut behind them.

The five SSS-rank hunters immediately moved forward, almost by reflex. Tight formation, steady strides, as if this stage belonged to them.

"We’ll take the fast route," one of the SSS men said casually. "Clear the first floor within an hour."

Nathan didn’t object. He simply walked behind them, hands in his pockets, eyes moving quickly as he scanned the structure—walls, gaps, and nearly invisible mana flows.

Validia walked beside him, her expression flat.

"Their behavior is excessive," she said quietly.

"I know," Nathan replied shortly.

They moved deeper.

The first monster appeared in less than five minutes.

One of the female SSS hunters stepped forward with a light laugh.

A single slash.

The monster was destroyed before it could even approach.

Internal drone cameras recorded everything. Fast. Clean. Spectacular.

Hours passed.

Floor after floor was cleared. Several elite monsters appeared, but all were dealt with swiftly by the SSS-rank hunters. They joked during combat, occasionally striking exaggerated poses after major kills.

---

Time continued to pass.

Outside the Tower, night had fully fallen.

City lights flickered on one by one.

Inside a quiet house—

Lilia sat on the sofa, her phone in her hand. The living room lights were already off.

The screen glowed, showing short-form edited videos with excessive flashes as the hunters stepped out of their limousines.

Lilia scrolled absentmindedly, her thumb moving on its own.

Clips after clips—hunters posing, flashy edits, exaggerated kill counts.

But no matter how many videos passed...

*Why isn’t Nathan showing up?* she thought.

She frowned slightly, then let out a small huff.

Her mind drifted, uninvited, to the image of her brother’s stupid face—awkward smile, messy hair, that habit of scratching the back of his head when he didn’t know what to say.

"...At least he still alive," she muttered softly, though the corner of her lips twitched.

She scrolled again.

This time, a video autoplayed with sound.

"My dad is kinda homeless—"

Lilia blinked.

She flicked past it immediately.

Another scroll.

"Six sev—"

THUD.

A dull sound came from behind the sofa.

Lilia jolted.

Her thumb froze mid-motion as she reflexively paused the video. Her shoulders stiffened, breath held for a split second.

Slowly, she turned her head and glanced over the back of the couch.

Nothing.

Empty space. Quiet room. Curtains still. No shadow, no movement.

"...Hah," she exhaled, annoyed at herself.

She faced the phone again and resumed scrolling.

And then—

"FAAAAAHHHH—"

The sudden, distorted scream blasted from her speakers.

"—AH!"

Lilia flinched hard, nearly dropping the phone as her heart jumped into her throat.

She slapped the screen to mute it, eyes wide.

Silence returned instantly.

She stared at the phone for a moment, then groaned quietly and pressed it against her forehead.

"...Stupid trending sounds," she muttered.

Her pulse slowly settled.

She scrolled again—but this time, her thumb froze mid-motion.

Before the short video could even start playing—

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The sound was slow. Heavy. Deliberate.

Lilia instantly paused the screen.

Her breathing hitched.

She glanced over the back of the sofa.

Nothing.

The room was still exactly the same—dark, quiet, empty.

"...Is something under there?" she murmured.

Keeping her phone clutched tight, she leaned sideways and crouched down, peeking behind the sofa, then lower—toward the back underside.

"What, a ra—"

Her words died in her throat.

Her eyes went wide.

White hair.

Pure white—thick, silky—and two uneven tufts sticking out at odd angles, twitching slightly, as if reacting to her movement.

"—?!"

Lilia yelped and lost her balance, falling backward with a thump. She scrambled on instinct, still gripping her phone, heart slamming against her ribs.

She scooted back on the floor, half-sitting, half-crawling, eyes locked on the shadow beneath the sofa. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"What the hell... what the hell—"

Then—

A small hand slid out from under the couch.

Lilia gasped and flinched hard—

Her thumb accidentally pressed the screen.

"FAAAAAAAHHHH—"

The scream blasted out of her phone again, echoing through the room.